This isn't a complete question. Do you have a format or group of formats you want to identify? Are you just wanting a string entered and to display details for the referenced item? Do you want to read a barcode with a camera? Do you want to pull your data from a "live" source or have a fixed catalog?

I'm guessing right now the answer is "really hard" because you don't mention current knowledge or skill. This could be wrong, we just don't have any data.

It's quite easy to do this. There's an API for it and you have to do it as part of receipt validation when distributing your app via the App Store or distributing a signed application. Unfortunately Apple has moved the article about validation, breaking my book mark. but you should be able to find it by going to the Mac developer site and searching for the app validation / code signing guides. I'll try to find it.

Then you have to build one, requiring some coding skills, or you have to pay someone to do it for you. The former we can help with if you ask specific questions and are really trying. We can't help with the latter, this isn't a consulting/coder-for-hire site.

I may be wrong, but I don't think there is an official Apple provided lookup of serial numbers to product specs. Maybe you'd be better off taking another route and providing some kind of app/script to run on the Mac in question to gather the required info.

For example, the command

Code:

system_profiler -detailLevel full -xml

...should provide you with a lot of info, and from then on it should be pretty easy to extract the bits you want.

I may be wrong but I don't think you can 'decode' a Mac's serial number and extract model information etc from it. Instead you'd need a list of serial numbers and the associated specs server side and do a look-up. As I said, I don't think Apple publishes such a list so you'd need to compile one yourself somehow, or otherwise acquire one.

If you don't know how to code you can't do any of this. You won't be able to use any API or library. You need to either commit to a long learning process or hire someone to help. None of us have any knowledge of how mac4cash maps serials to devices. It's a core part of their business, so I'm guessing they won't share details, but you could always ask. My guess is a rules database they frequently update as new products ship, but who knows.

You have an ultimate goal, running a successful website that buys and sells used macs. One step you've established you think you need is a serial number lookup. Unfortunately there are a ton of steps in between. There will be a lot of complexity that hasn't reared its head yet.

You are asking us how to make a serial lookup. The fact is, none of us know. We don't need to do it. We can speculate, but no one will build it for fun for you. It may be worth visiting a site where you can contract developers, but the task you have has ambiguities and is a bit unbounded. This means the cost is unbounded. You have a tough row to hoe. Unfortunately we just can't answer this in a simple way.

Yep. To echo what Lee1210 says, what you're asking is how to do development work without having any development skills. The short answer is that you can't. You either need to learn some (and that won't happen overnight) or hire someone who already has.

The information on how to decode both the old 11 character format and the new (introduced in 2010) 12 character format is out there, but I am not comfortable to post more, because every article on the usual Apple news sites have stuff removed and the following posted: "Information Removed at Request of Apple Legal".

You say you want to start up a site, then you mention that you have no knowledge of development. So what exactly are you trying to do by asking this question? Are you trying to figure out how much to pay a developer to do this for you, based on "how hard it is" ?

The site wouldn't just be a decoder, there would be a back-end where I would tell the site how much that model Mac is worth. Yes, I've posted on freelance sites but not many people are knowledgeable on this subject.

The site wouldn't just be a decoder, there would be a back-end where I would tell the site how much that model Mac is worth. Yes, I've posted on freelance sites but not many people are knowledgeable on this subject.

Click to expand...

To make a product, you need either:

- Technical skills
- Budget to pay for someone with skills

From the sound of it, you have neither.
Idea is worth nothing without the budget to execute.

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